Newsmaker

Jolie leaves Vietnam with boy

(AP)
Updated: 2007-03-15 13:31

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam - Angelina Jolie left an orphanage in southern Vietnam on Thursday with a 3-year-old boy that Vietnamese officials have said she planned to adopt.

American actress Angelina Jolie is seen in a car with her adopted son Maddox from Cambodia after arriving at the Ho Chi Minh City International Airport, southern Vietnam, Wednesday night, March 14, 2007. [AP]

The actress, who arrived in Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday night, carried the boy from the Tam Binh orphanage to a waiting Toyota four-wheel drive.

The same vehicle later arrived at the Department of Justice in Ho Chi Minh City, where adoption officials earlier said an official ceremony would be carried out to complete the adoption. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to talk to the media.

After about 30 minutes, two vehicles left the building, followed by a buzz of reporters and photographers.

It wasn't immediately clear where they were heading, but officials earlier said Jolie was expected to meet with US consular officials, who must review the adoption before a passport can be issued for the boy.

Jolie had arrived at the orphanage carrying her 5-year-old son Maddox, whom she adopted in neighboring Cambodia in 2002.

About 20 children dressed in traditional Vietnamese tunics, called ao dai, and offering flowers welcomed the pair as they arrived at the orphanage.

Jolie, dressed in a black skirt and shirt, was preceded at the orphanage by a phalanx of private security guards.

Brad Pitt, Jolie's partner, did not accompany her to Vietnam.

They have three children: Maddox, adopted from Cambodia; 2-year-old Zahara, adopted from Ethiopia; and another daughter, Shiloh, who was born to the couple in May.